


Prime Aspirations

by UlisaBarbic



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Affection, Android Saga, Aspiration, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Father Figures, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Good Parent Son Goku (Dragon Ball), Kid Son Gohan, Slice of Life, Smart Son Goku (Dragon Ball), Three Year Gap (Dragon Ball), Training, World’s Martial Arts Tournament
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-16 20:00:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28962093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UlisaBarbic/pseuds/UlisaBarbic
Summary: After a hard day of training for the Androids, Goku gives his son a much needed pep talk and Gohan discovers some aspirations for himself.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 21





	Prime Aspirations

It was a familiar sight. Sweat, bruises, and laughing out of pure relief. Piccolo had taken off as soon as Goku announced they were done for the day. Waving him off, Goku told him they’d see him tomorrow and set off for home, Gohan at his heels. Sure, they might have been able to fly but after a day of hard training, a simple walk was much more palatable. Always fun to see the mountain too. You could see it four times a day and always find something different.

Today though, Goku eyed his son with interest. Ever since they started training for the Androids, Gohan was gung-ho every day s d he would chatter Goku’s ear off on the way home. The Saiyan looked forward to it. Today though, the boy walked with his head down, holding his right arm tightly.

Turning, Goku knelt, “Hey, what’s wrong, little man? You more roughed up than you told me? I can carry ya if you need the rest.”

Shaking his head, Gohan said, “I feel like I’m disappointin’ you, Daddy.”

“Eh?!” Goku fumbled his brow. “Where’d you get a silly idea like that? You’re doing great Gohan. You’re gettin’ faster. You’re gettin’ stronger and man, you know a lot of attacks! I didn’t learn some of those ‘til I was an adult!”

“I’m not honoring my name.”

“What?” Goku sat now, on the ground and took his son’s shoulders tightly. “Gohan, you’re not making any sense. What’s your name got to do with this?”

“Grandpa Gohan was a martial artist. And he was one of the best. He taught YOU Daddy. And he taught you all the important stuff ‘bout honor and things. But I’m embarrassing you with Piccolo. I get thrashed every day. I can barely keep you two in my sights. But I’m trying! But it’s not enough.”

Goku sighed, shook his head. “Gohan, we named you after your great-grandpa because we loved him and we love you. You don’t hafta do anythin’ to ‘honor’ that name. You do it ‘cause you’re you.” He tilted the boy’s head up. “And lemme tell you—wanna know how many times I ate dirt when Grandpa was teachin’ me?”

Gohan rubbed his eyes, willing them to stay dry. “Lots?”

“All day!” Goku grinned. “And a few times I felt like you—like I wasn’t gettin’ anywhere and that I was chasin’ somethin’ I’d never catch. But I did. And you will do. Maybe you don’t see it right now but you’re learnin’. And you’re learnin’ fast. More than I ever did.”

Gohan eyed him. “You mean that?”

“Sure do!” Goku paused, thought. “Gohan, let’s see...you’re seven now and Piccolo started trainin’ you when you were four. So that’s...three years. Day before we went to Roshi’s, what did you know about fightin’?”

“Not much.” He admitted with a shrug. “I knew the ready stance. You and Mom use it a lot. When you guys tease each other, even Mom uses it. And I knew from watchin’ you some basic punches.”

Smiling, Goku tapped his son’s nose. “But not too much, huh?”

Shaking his head, Gohan admitted, “No. Not too much.”

“But look at you know. You’re flyin’ almost like it’s walkin’. I didn’t learn that ‘til I was almost grown. You know how to judge a battle and move to take advantage of it. You’re keepin’ up with me and Piccolo—“

“Barely.”

“But that barely don’t matter.”Goku stressed. “You’re doin’ it. Gohan, you know when me and Piccolo fought at the Tournament, men and women from all over the world came to test their skills. Best of the best of the best! Piccolo plowed through all of them until it was just him and me. When I beat him in that round...and it was a tough victory don’t forget!...we were literally the strongest in the world. Outta all these other fighters that had been doing this all their lives, Piccolo and I were the best.”

Gohan nodded. He knew this story. It was one of his favorites actually. Mom wasn’t too fond of it—probably brought up bad memories—but Gohan loved it. The idea of all the strongest people in the world and his daddy domineering over them all, even his mentor, was something he always smiled about. “Yeah, you were named Strongest Under the Heavens, Daddy.”

“And yet I have a little seven year old that can keep up with me. That can match me. That can take my punches and throw them back at me. Wonder what that says about him, eh? Throwing and taking blows that the best of the best of the best couldn’t take?”

That paused Gohan a moment. “I...”

“Until I reached Krillin and them in the Tournament, Gohan, none of those other fighters could lay a finger on me. That means they couldn’t lay a finger on YOU either.” Goku smiled again, one full of confidence. “And most of those guys were in their prime. You? You ain’t even touchin’ your prime yet. You’re just startin’! You’re gonna be plowin’ past me and Piccolo speed wise ‘fore the year is up, you just wait and see!”

That seemed hard to fathom to the boy. His father and Piccolo were like some untouchable martial arts Gods. But Daddy was right. He was able to not just throw blows that made the older fighters go back but he could block and take the same blows thrown at him. Sure, it might hurt and bruise (he had a nasty one on his forearm from Piccolo today) but he could TAKE IT.

Maybe that was something to view with pride. He’d never thought too much on where he stood among their group of friends. He’d just always assumed those older than him were better than him. Now, he was contending with the idea that this wasn’t necessarily true. 

Here he was, seven, and he already outranked a majority of the world’s fighters.

It was a bit crazy to consider!

“That’s...really weird to think about, Daddy.” Confessing it, Gohan did give a smile. “I mean, me better than all those fighters?”

“I can tell ya for a fact it’s true.” Goku stood and pulled Gohan up to sit on his shoulders. “You would mop the floor with most of them.” 

Now there was a fun thought. The World Martial Arts Tournament. Something that had only been part of his daydreams and the stories his parents told. But hearing all this from his father made a new sense of pride swell in his gut. “Daddy, when all this craziness is over, do you think they’ll have another Tournament?”

“I bet so. We’ve probably missed one or two, been busy.” Looking up at his son, eyes agleam with pride, Goku asked, “That something you’d wanna do?”

“...yeah.” Feeling more confident in his answer, Gohan repeated. “Yeah. I used to daydream ‘bout it.”

“Did ya?” Goku kept up a steady pace of walking towards home but he never took his eyes off his son. “That was part of your little adventures in the yard?” Oh, Goku loved to watch him—grabbing sticks and animals and rocks and going on some adventure Gohan could only see in his head.

Flushing a light red, Gohan retorted. “Sometimes. Especially after you or Mom had been talkin’ about when you met or married and stuff. I used to like to pretend I was there, fighting like you two did.” He grinned, widely, his new adult teeth looking out of place among a skew of baby teeth still to fall out. He kinda looked like a rabbit and Goku smiled at the sight. “And now I really could.” Excitement colored his words. “I could really get somewhere in that Tournament!”

“You bet you could!” Eyeing his son, Goku asked. “Would you wanna do that, Gohan?”

Would he... “Yes! Yes! That’d be fun, Daddy!” He looked down. “You’re the 23rd World Martial Arts Champion. I wanna be one too!”

Laughing, Goku said, “Well, don’t forget that your Daddy lost more than he won.” Adding it with emphasis, he said, “Daddy lost to a lot of good fighters. But I learned every time. Kinda like another little boy I know.”

Kinda like they were doing now? Eating dirt and blood every day but getting back up again? Gohan nodded to his father’s statement, taking pride in that now rather than frustration. “And I bet I will too. But I wanna be a Champion one day too, Daddy. Like you.”

“Well, you’re off to a good start.” Ruffling the boy’s hair a moment, the Saiyan said, “How about this? Let’s handle these Androids and once we get that done, we’ll look into that Tournament.”

“Really?” Gohan’s face fell after a moment. “But Mom said—“

“Eh, your mom just worries and says a lot of stuff that she don’t really mean. Leave her to me. But if you really wanna train for it, why not?” Goku gave a teasing evil grin. “Me and Piccolo would hafta enter too you know, really test ya!”

Gohan just returned the grin with fervor. “Good. I’d like to take the title from you, Daddy!” He amended. “I will!”

Chuckling, Goku threw the boy up suddenly, catching him in a cradle hold as he came down and running his fingers over the boy’s ribs. “Oh you are, are ya?”

Squealing, Gohan pushed back lightly. “No fair! No fair!”

“Not fair? This is trainin’, Kiddo!”

“Cheater! We gotta rest now, ‘member?” He took in a deep intake as his father gave him some reprieve and met his eyes. “Thank you, Daddy. I never thought about it like that before but...I wanna do this! I wanna be a Champion like you!”

“And you will, little man. You will.” Hearing a light rumble from his son, he laughed. “But nobody is gonna be Champion of anything on an empty stomach! Let’s get home. I get your mom has just the right fuel for a Champion and Future Champion.”

“Sounds good to me.” Gohan reached up and took his father in a tight hug. “Onward, together?”

“No other way.”

**Author's Note:**

> Could be considered canon compliant or part of an AU, you decide!


End file.
